Do I Need Workplace Policies and Procedures?

The checklist to start and run a successful business can sometimes be intimidating. Sorting your priorities to get the business running can be tedious when you’re eager to start. Similarly, finding time to improve your business can burdensome when you’re up and running.

However, it is crucial that if your business has staff that you obtain and implement Workplace Policies and Procedures documents to save your business time and money.

Although there are almost innumerable reasons why your business should have workplace policies and procedures, some of the most important and practical reasons from a legal perspective are as follows.

Health and Safety Matters:

Perhaps the most common reason for employers implementing workplace policies and procedures is to ensure that they provide a safe workplace as required by workplace health and safety legislation.

It can be difficult for businesses, particularly growing businesses, to manage health and safety risks for their employees. Providing and implementing specific policies and procedures which requires and empowers employees to self-identify hazards is both critical and necessary.

When an incident occurs in the workplace it can be very difficult for an employer to distance themselves from that occurrence; therefore prevention is the key.

Protect against unfair dismissal claims:

Business owners seldom have time to keep up to date with and deeply understand complex industrial relations laws to ensure they are not exposed to unfair dismissal claims.

An employment law Solicitor can assist you to obtain clear expectation guidelines and processes/procedures which provide a clear framework for your business to implement, making the process much simpler.

Sometimes employers implement these procedures after an unfair dismissal claim is made and by then it has already cost them thousands.

Ideally, if the expectation guidelines, processes and procedures are followed correctly, your business can reduce exposure to liability for unfair dismissal claims.

Protect against other employment claims:

There are an almost infinite number of matters that your business can be held liable for; this includes both claims by an employee and/or third party because in relation to the actions of an employee in the course of their employment.

You can reduce your exposure by having specific policies and procedures, including grievance procedures in relation to:

sexual harassment;

workplace bullying;

discrimination; and

racial, religious or other vilification.

Make your business more efficient:

You might be surprised how much more can be achieved when employees have additional certainty regarding their roles and do not need to interrupt management for advice.

In addition, bringing on new employees will be made easier and you are more likely to retain valuable knowledge when an employee leaves because it has been documented in the procedures.

Spending money in the short term can save your business money in the long run by investing in workplace policies and procedures; plus it will add to the value of your business once you decide to sell.

We recommend that you call us at (07) 3667 8966 or email info@smslaw.com.au for advice regarding drafting and implementing policies and procedures for your business.

Tips for managing Health and Safety in your workplace

As an employer, providing a safe working environment for your employees should be in the forefront of your mind. October is National Safe Work Month and it is a timely reminder for all small to medium business owners to think about your workplace environment.

It is the legal duty of the employer to provide all employees with a safe working environment. In circumstances where employees have suffered injuries, your liability may extend to financial implications for time off work and insurance premiums for work cover claims. Following investigations, penalties may also be imposed by Fair Work Australia and Workplace Health and Safety Queensland.

When people hear “safe work environment” they normally turn their mind to physically dangerous or risky tasks rather than all types of tasks that an employee may perform in a business. All too often it is assumed that the industries that do not typically perform jobs posing an immediate risk to physical safety do not need to worry about providing a safe work environment.

However, the duty to provide a safe work environment is not limited simply to physical injuries to employees; it extends to employees’ mental health and protection from sexual harassment and bullying.

As an employer, keeping track of all your liabilities can be exhausting. While it would be ideal to have a workplace where injuries simply did not happen, the fact is that employees are human and injuries (whether physical or mental) occur in the workplace. However, you are able to limit your liability for employee injuries in circumstances where you can prove that you have implemented workplace policies for your employees.

We recommend that every workplace has, at a minimum, the following workplace policies:

Workplace health and safety procedures and safe work method statements for the duties that your employees perform, relative to the industry in which you operate.

Sexual harassment and bullying policies.

Social media and Internet use policies together with parameters for employee utilisation.

By implementing workplace policies, training your employees on the workplace policies and ensuring compliance with the workplace policies, employers will be able to limit their liability in an investigation where a workplace injury has occurred.

At Streten Masons Lawyers we aim to provide owners of small to medium businesses with tools to not only understand the liabilities as employers, but implement processes to limit liability where possible. Please contact our office on (07) 5428 1111 for a review of your employment processes and advice on workplace policies.

Workplace bullying pt. 1: What constitutes bullying?

Unfortunately, bullying occurs in a large number of Australian workplaces. The Productivity Commission estimates cost to employers of workplace bullying as being between $6-$36 billion dollars every year. Workplace bullying not only fosters stress and anxiety in your employees, increases turnover and absenteeism, and decreases productivity, but it could land you in some serious financial trouble should you fail to handle a complaint correctly according to the law.

The truth for employers is that it is not always easy to identify what is or is not bullying behaviour, and it can often go unnoticed if you are not switched on. Have you ever wondered when speaking to an employee how that employee might respond to what you are saying? Have you ever seen or heard interactions between employees in the workplace and wondered about whether they are harmless or potentially harmful? If these questions have ever crossed your mind, you are definitely not alone.

What constitutes bullying?

Workplace bullying has quickly become a focal point of various amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009 and has seen an increase in employer responsibility for bullying in the workplace. With the amendments to the legislation it is critical for employers to understand their obligations and liabilities should an issue arise within the workplace.

Many individuals have an idea of what bullying is generally, but they will have trouble defining this term legally. For employers especially, it can often be difficult to determine what behaviour or actions actually constitute bullying in their workplace. As a developing area of employment law unfortunately not all of the questions have answers at the moment.

An overview of the mechanics of the provisions of the Fair Work Act for bullying and harassment is as follows. Under the Fair Work Act a worker is bullied at work if:

While the worker is at work in a constitutionally-covered business an individual, or a group of individuals, repeatedly behaves unreasonably towards the worker, or a group of workers of which the worker is a member; and

That behaviour creates a risk to health and safety.

There are three key things to note here. The bullying behaviour must occur at work (work outings and events may be included in this), it is behaviour that occurs repeatedly, and the behaviour must be considered unreasonable.

Further, the repeated behaviour must present a threat to the victim’s physical, emotional, or psychological wellbeing, or present a risk of contributing to an unsafe work environment.

The following could be considered bullying:

Behaving aggressively and intimidating, including yelling and offensive language,

–The following may not be considered bullying:

An employer delivering critical or constructive feedback during a performance review;

Reasonable punishment as a result of negative behaviour;

Firing or making an employee redundant with reasonable cause.

What are the penalties for an employer?

As an employer, it is your duty to prevent your employees from suffering injuries or illness as a result of bullying. Where a workplace bullying complaint or claim is brought by an employee and you do not deal adequately dealt with the claim, you will required to deal with the Fair Work Commission and may be liable to pay compensation. The first step in avoiding this is to properly understand what workplace bullying is and how to identify it.

Keep an eye out for the next article in our Bullying & Harassment series for some practical steps to prevent workplace bullying and deal with it should it arise.

How we can help

Streten Masons Lawyers specialise in guiding business owners through dealing with claims of bullying & harassment in their workplace. For specialized legal advice on this or any other area of employment law, contact one of our team on 07 3667 8966 or email me directly at Craig@smslaw.com.au